Products That Flow

A large part of our current linear economy consists of fast-moving consumer goods. After a short usage period the product becomes waste, which ends up in a waste treatment plant for recycling or incineration or, unfortunately, leaks into the environment on landfills or as plastic soup. Should we stop consuming these products? Can we live without packaging, consumables and fashion? We could do without them, but sometimes we do need packaging to protect a product and to prevent food waste. In order to stop producing more waste we need to rethink our approach to those consumables. We need a more circular approach, starting at the beginning of production and consumption: the design. Through circular business models and design strategies Products that Flow demonstrates how end-of-life products can become a resource for new ones instead of becoming waste. The book describes circular business models and design strategies to inspire designers, marketeers and business developers.

Préface
PRODUCTS THAT FLOW is an unusual book about business and design, for it focuses on fast-moving consumer goods. Products that are not supposed to last and can be quite damaging to the environment. It concerns food, packaging, disposables, fashion and cheap gifts and gadgets. This gloriously illustrated book offers a range of business opportunities and design strategies to deal with these products in a more sustainable way. It goes beyond the point where design and entrepreneurship tend to come to a halt.

Auteur
Ed van Hinte started the design research facility DRS22 in The Hague. DRS22 performs design research on public space, communication and lightweight structures.